Celebrating the Freedom to Read
Banned Books Week began in 1982, a year that saw a sudden increase in the number of books targeted for attempted or successful bans across the United States. Sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Library Association, and Center for the Book in the Library of Congress among others, it’s now held annually during the last week of September:
Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted ban of books across the United States.
Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week.
The American Library Association recently posted a list of the 10 most challenged books reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2008. The following will be featured during Banned Books Week 2009:
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
His Dark Materials (trilogy) by Philip Pullman
TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series) by Lauren Myracle
Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper
Banned Books Week events are scheduled across the country throughout the week of September 26-October 3. They include a read-out at Bughouse Square in Chicago where several of the authors mentioned above will read and discuss their experiences with censorship.
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